January: One Garment a Month Sew Along Result

Okay, because I decided to join the Pattern Review sew along the last bit of January, I decided to finish an unfinished project instead of trying to start a new one from scratch.  I finished the dog coat for my beloved borde collie/Australian shepard mix, Stars.

Pattern Used:  Butterick 4226 (read my review by clicking on the My Reviews in the right column)
Size:  Large (I wanted extra coverage for the cold.)
Fabric/Notions: 
Outer fabric is a medium-light blue denim
Lining is a baby pink lightweight sweatshirt fleece (soft fuzzy side sewn out)
Binding:  1/2" single fold bias tape in bright pink
2" wide white sew-on Velcro
Coats and Clark Dual Duty thread in bright pink
Cost:
Denim  $2  (with extra for another project)
Fleece  free (a garage sale find given to me)
Binding  2 packages @ $ 1.67 each (JoAnns with a 40% off coupon, only used about 1 and 1/3 packages)
Velcro  16 inches @ $ .09/inch (JoAnns by the yard with 40% off coupon)
Thread  $1.30 (JoAnns during a 50% off sale)
Pattern $1.99 (JoAnns sale)
Total:   $8.96

And what did I get for the money?  One very happy border collie. 

I thought the bright pink binding added a nice touch of contrast with the denim and especially helped the collar to become a more noticable design feature.

I used bright pink thread to attach the binding and to sew on the velcro.  When sewing the velcro, I used a zigzag stitch--the stitching was going to show, so why not make it part of the design, right?

The contrasting soft pink lining is not only beautiful with both the denim and the binding, but by sewing the soft fuzzy side out, it is very cuddly and warm.

I used two strips of the Velcro per band.  Stars often runs through the plants, jumps, and rolls, so I did not want to chance an end of the bands poking out and catching or tripping him.

Stars is very proud of his new coat--when I put it on him, he goes around and shows everyone how good he looks.  The first time he was outside wearing the coat, he laid down and went to roll--I exclaimed, "Stars, you'll get your coat dirty!" and he jumped right up and tried to inspect his coat for dirt!  (Don't worry, I explained to him that it is washable, and he now happily sits and lays outside without worry of dirt ruining his fabulous fashion.)  He did however let me know when he was done modeling for the camera.